SURF MOVIE: reels 1-14, Reviewed in Pitpilot, Issue 4
(8/10)

After a spate or rather a glut of surf movies in 2003/2004 there seems to be a limitless horizon of supply, demand being another thing altogether. It seems the surfing media thinks the pockets of their consumers are as limitless as their seemingly inane and rehashed ideas. They’ve been exceptions of course, but wading through the mire of surf cinematography to get at something good is a tiresome affair. This brings me to Surf Movie, not everyone’s cup of tea, but nevertheless something that has the spectacle of difference. Shot entirely on 8mm, uncut & laid bare – each reel is seen as it was shot. This isn’t just novelty for its own sake, it captures the enterprise of surfing off guard, rather than the usual eclectic editing of extremes, we get a Movie about surfing and its fundamentals. Michael Halsband ‘acclaimed photographer’ has managed to render a visual narrative bio-pic of surfing’s great stars from the shadows, away from the limelight of their success. The original musical score by Richard Fortus is excellent, drawn from a range of electronic styles made entirely for the film – it is complete in itself! Featuring: Tudor, Beau Young, Jack Johnson, Bruce Irons, Slater, Lynch & McTavish among others, in locations such as Windansea, Pipeline & the Pass – this is a good way top spend 48 minutes; but if that all seems a bit pretentious, check out the pipe footage for ‘grit’,’awesome’, and ‘amped’ x ‘Slater’.

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